As it goes with many of the apps in an operating system, you may need more features or grow tired with the user interface. That is the point I reached with the iOS calendar on my iPhone. I went to Agenda Calendar as a substitute, because it has a minimal design, a great user experience, and more configuration options.

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About Agenda Calendar

Like many smartphone owners, my iPhone calendar runs my life. It keeps track and reminds of meetings and deadlines, so I found a lot to like in Agenda Calendar, including:

It shows more than 10 events in the day view

It has a simplified Add Event screen layout

It provides more options for repeat events (this is especially useful if you set calendar reminders)

Using Agenda Calendar

Agenda Calendar is a quick and responsive app with all of the features and options available within a couple of taps or swipes.

Change calendar views

To change the calendar view, simply slide the screen to the right or left. Agenda Calendar includes a Year view (far left), Month view, Week view, Day view, and Event view (far right). Figure A shows an example of the Event view.
Figure A

The Event view on Agenda Calendar.

Search Agenda Calendar

Agenda Calendar includes a robust search feature. I use it frequently when I need to go back and remember a meeting time for a status report or when I'm writing an email.

To search Agenda Calendar:

Go to the Week view, and tap 14 (it looks like a calendar icon)

Type your search terms in the search field at the top of the screen, and then tap Search. Your search results will appear on the screen in chronological order, from the oldest first. Figure B shows the Agenda Calendar search field.

Figure B

The Agenda Calendar search field.

Return to Today

Tap the status bar (the top most bar on your screen) to return to the current day.

Add an all day event

Follow the directions to add an event, but tap the clock icon to create a full day event.

Import Contacts

To import contacts when creating or editing an event:

Scroll down to contacts on the Add Event screen

Tap the contacts icon to launch your iPhone address book

Tap the contacts you want to attach to the meeting, and the Import Contacts screen will appear

Tap the email address or phone number for the contact to return to the Import Contacts screen

Tap Add Event to return to Add Event screen

Invite attendees to an event

About the only drawback of giving up iOS calendar for Agenda Calendar is that it doesn't yet support sending event invitations. However, there's a workaround available.

To invite attendees:

From Agenda Calendar, tap the settings icon

Tap Extras

Tap iOS Event Creation to send invites to people for your events

Synchronizing Agenda Calendar information

When I installed Agenda Calendar on my iPhone, it immediately began working with my other Google and iPhone calendars. You can see what calendars you already have setup on your iPhone by following these steps:

Tap the settings icon, and the Settings screen will appear (Figure E)

Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars to reveal your list of accounts

Figure E

You can see your Accounts from the Settings window.

Adjust Agenda Calendar settings

Agenda Calendar has a number of calendar settings that you can customize. Figure F shows the Agenda Calendar Settings screen:
Figure F

Agenda Calendar has more flexible settings than the iOS calendar.

To adjust Agenda Calendar settings:

Tap the settings icon, and the Settings screen will appear

Tap Calendars, and then select the cloud and iPhone calendars you want to view and access through Agenda Calendar

Tap Defaults to set the defaults for your calendar, including the Calendar, Event Alert Sounds, View, Duration, Alert, and All Day Alert Time

Tap Event Dots, and then specify the Event Dots you want to appear on your Agenda Calendar by sliding the options On/Off

Tap International, and then slide On/Off to specify 24-Hour Time and to start the workweek on Monday

Tap Status Taps, and then slide Status Taps On/Off; you also have the option to filter recipients and set message to Confirm, Here, Late, and Other

Tap Extras, and then you have the option to turn On/Off options, including Date on Badge, Highlight Weekends, Goal View, Sync on Resume, iOS Event Creation, and Show All Day Text (there are also a number of calendar themes available as Extras)

Agenda Calendar vs. iOS Calendar

Agenda Calendar is a great low-cost alternative to the iOS Calendar. It offers greater control over the presentation and accessibility of your calendar data. Have you used Agenda Calendar or another calender app on your iPhone? Please share your experience in the discussion thread below.

About Will Kelly

Will Kelly is a freelance technical writer and analyst currently focusing on enterprise mobility, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and the consumerization of IT. He has also written about cloud computing, Big Data, virtualization, project management ap...

Full Bio

Will Kelly is a freelance technical writer and analyst currently focusing on enterprise mobility, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and the consumerization of IT. He has also written about cloud computing, Big Data, virtualization, project management applications, Google Apps, Microsoft technologies, and online collaboration for TechRepublic and other sites. Will also works as a contract technical writer for clients in the Washington, DC area and nationwide. Follow Will on Twitter: @willkelly.